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Billie Carter has faced quite the journey on the second season of Seven’s hit drama. But it wasn’t her character’s dad’s ailing health or discovering her real family that Jessica Mauboy struggled with most – it was actually her kissing scenes with co-star James Sweeny, who plays Billie’s love interest Marc!
But luckily for the songstress, Themeli is ‘very supportive’ of her career, and co-star James, 28, was there to guide her through the experience.
‘Poor James,’ Jessica says, laughing. ‘All he heard from me every time we had to lock lips, I was like: ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ – I couldn’t help it!
‘There were moments where I was like: ‘I need 10 mints or I need to brush my teeth again!”
However, allowing the Darwin-born star to feel more comfortable during the filming process was her involvement as a co-producer.
‘It’s not like I was taking my clothes off or anything,’ she explains. ‘I couldn’t handle that, I couldn’t do it, I was really strict about that. I was very conscious of the respect and the dignity of me and of Billie. She doesn’t hop around.’
The 28-year-old tells New Idea that she struggled to break the news about her character’s romance to long-time boyfriend Themeli Magripilis.
‘I was so nervous,’ Jessica remembers. ‘We do this thing where he will help me out and I’m like: ‘Bub, can you help me out with reading the other part,’ and he will read it with me.
‘There were moments where he was like: ‘Oh hell, I hate this.’ It was so hard for him to see that and feel that.
‘For him to pick up the scripts and read them, I felt more embarrassed than he did.’
Beloved by fans of her music and now her acting, Jessica is renowned for her squeaky-clean image and family values.
‘I am always asking myself questions,’ she reveals.
‘Why do I do it? What exactly do I want to do? How do I want to look?’
The star adds: ‘I need to feel comfortable.’
For the full story, and more entertainment news, see this weeks issue of New Idea – out now!
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